Another inconclusive vote for the election of a Constitutional Court judge: in the eighth round of voting by Parliament in joint session, where a three-fifths majority of members was required (363 votes), none of the candidates reached the quorum. There were 323 blank ballots, ten invalid ones, and nine scattered votes. The majority of parliamentarians were instructed to vote with a blank ballot, while the minorities refrained from participating in the vote. According to Giorgio Mulè, vice president of the Chamber of Deputies, a ninth ballot will be held on a date to be announced. The position has been empty for nearly a year, since the mandate of Silvana Sciarra, the Consulta's last president, expired in November. Three additional judges appointed by parliament will expire in December, and the parties have not yet reached an accord regarding the appointment. On July 24, the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, issued a severe warning to the parties regarding the delay during the traditional meeting with the press at the Quirinale. He stated, "The long wait of the Constitutional Court for its fifteenth judge is a wound to the Constitution made by Parliament" during the 'Ventaglio ceremony', to whom he had invited "with grace but with determination to elect this judge immediately." The following day, Lorenzo Fontana, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, responded to the Head of State's request by announcing the convocation of Parliament in a joint session in September on a weekly basis for the election of the judge of the Consulta. He reserved the right to proceed to continuous votes if necessary. The center-right is currently concentrating on Francesco Saverio Marini, the current legal adviser to the Prime Minister, considered the "father" of the premiership.